The affect of symbols: creating the graphic differential through synesthesia and metaphor
The affect of symbols: creating the graphic differential through synesthesia and metaphor

Summary/Abstract: Previous research with the semantic differential technique has established the cross-cultural generality of three basic affective dimensions identified as evaluation, potency, and activity. The purpose of this study is to develop a graphic equivalent of the pan-cultural short form semantic differential. This graphic differential is composed of bipolar scales made up of pictographic opposites on which subjects rate a concept by placing a check mark on the seven-point scale. Such a non-verbal instrument would be culture free and would have certain distinct advantages of the verbal semantic differential form. Data are reported for a pre-test of the graphic instrument in five language-culture communities (American English, Delhi Hindi, Finnish, German, and Japanese). The study succeeds in identifying several graphic scales that provide reliable and effective indices of the evaluation dimension of affect. These scales exhibit and conform to the symmetry law of Gestalt and could be used as a culture free attitude measure. With respect to the potency and activity dimensions, the results are less satisfactory, although some of the graphic scales can be used for this purpose when chosen indigenously (i.e. independently for each culture). Evidence of visual denotative contamination is found and discussed.

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